Penny For Your Thoughts
by 00Andromeda00
Summary: Hell is a place where your worst fears come to life. Hell is the place where everything and everyone you love dies. Hell is Olduvai, and I'm trapped here. JohnxOC fic. Rated T for swearing.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Ever wonder what hell is like? I'm pretty sure most people do. They imagine the worst possible torture happening to them for an eternity. I can tell you now, that it's a lot worse than what you're thinking of. How do I know? Because I've been there. Hell is a place where your worst fears come to life. Hell is the place where everything and everyone you hold dear turns to dust. Hell is Olduvai.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

The small lab is deathly quiet as I stare at the computer screen, its glare reflecting off my oval rimless glasses. My golden blonde hair is tied up in a messy bun with stray strands falling into my face. My bright blue eyes are fixed on one result in particular.

"Well…that can't be right." I mutter under my breath, my brows furrowed. "Can it?" I ask aloud to no one in particular. The room is empty. I then reach for the phone and dial the right number.

"This is Stafford." I hear a disgruntled male voice through the headset.

"Noah, it's Penny. I just wanted to confirm something with you." I reply.

I hear a disgruntled sigh. "Penny, what do want?" There's a pause before he continues. "It's one in the fucking morning." He says impatiently. I bite my lip as I glance at the clock. It reads 01:13. Oops.

"Look, this won't take long, then you can get back to your sleep. I just received the latest data on the C24 profile from that skeleton we dug up last week, and…it's different."

"Different how?" I can hear his tone change slightly, but I can't quite identify the emotion.

"Well, we know that C24 enhances the phenotypic characteristics of the subject, but…and we know that C24 adapts to their genetic code…not to mention the cellular changes-"

"Get to the point, Penny." Noah says, impatiently.

"I'm not so sure we should proceed with physical tests until we're sure that C24 won't permanently alter the physical state of the test subject. We start testing on mice next week, but…we need to postpone live testing until we identify exactly which alleles C24 enhances." I take a breath before continuing but Noah beats me to it.

"You woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me that?" Uh oh. He doesn't sound happy.

"It's important, Noah. I thought you should know." I protest, my voice rising an octave as my irritation grows.

I hear a sigh through the phone before he continues. "You're right, and I'm sorry. It's just…I had a rough day and I haven't been getting enough sleep lately."

I swallow my irritation and accept his weak excuses.

"You know it's kind of lonely down here without you." His tone becomes more seductive, but I don't buy it.

Noah Stafford and I have been dating a little over a year now. We met when I gave a presentation to the UAC board about the progress we've made on mars, and at Olduvai. He approached me afterwards and asked me out on a date. I outright rejected the man, but after two months of daily telephone calls and insisting, I finally caved. He's one of the youngest board members ever elected and a ruthless lawyer, but I have to admit, he is one hell of a boyfriend. I still have misgivings about him but he's fun to be around and he's not lazy about being a hard worker, unlike my previous boyfriend. Marcus White was a civil engineer in a big time company. Until said company became bankrupt and Marcus never found another job. He instead became content with moving in with me and using my credit cards. When I got a job at Olduvai, I kicked his ass out and moved out to mars completely.

I grin and settle back into my seat. "Well…you have that on site inspection visit next month, and then I have three months of vacation time stacked up. Maybe we could visit that place we went to on our first date-"

"I've got to go. I have an early meeting in the morning, and I'm really tired. See you soon, Pen." _Beep Beep Beep._ The dial tone of the disconnected line comes through in my ear and my expression falters.

"Great talk." I sigh, and hang up the phone. I haven't seen Noah in nearly a month, and in all that time, we haven't had a decent conversation about...anything. It feels as though the flame in our relationship is starting to flicker out, not that I'm surprised. My distance from Earth and long absences are enough to damper even the most passionate relationships. That's why UAC allow their scientists to bring their families with. I shake my head of the serious thoughts, and try to concentrate on my work.

As I once again stare at the screen, I realise that Noah had changed the subject completely. He never said anything about postponing physical testing. I rub my tired eyes and glance back at the clock. It's late, and I can feel the words on the screen begin to blur. "Ugh…I need coffee." I groan and get up, stretching my muscles and my joints popping. I'm stiff from sitting still for so long.

The clicking of my high heels echo in the quiet corridor as I walk towards the staff kitchen. My hand flies to my mouth to stifle a giant yawn. I flip the lights on in the kitchen and begin boiling the kettle. I lean against the counter and glance around the small room as I wait for the water to get hot. A cold shiver runs down my spine, and I pull my white lab coat tighter around me. The blue short sleeved dress I'm wearing stops short of my knees and has two slits on either side so it doesn't keep my very warm in the air conditioned complex.

When the water finally stops boiling, I make myself a cup of coffee before making my way back towards my lab. Sam always said I was a workaholic, and in this instance, I can't disagree. I sip on my hot coffee as I walk, savouring its taste as it rejuvenates me. I stop walking, thinking I've heard something. It sounds a lot like...screaming? I stand dead still in the corridor, craning my ears. The screams are getting louder.

I then see movement ahead. "Doctor Carmack?" I say in confusion, instantly recognising the older scientist and partner. He and his team are running for their lives, screaming, and they're headed straight for me.

"Penny, run!" Shouts Carmack from in front of the group. Something in his voice told me to just do what he says. I drop my coffee, turn, and run as fast as I can in my blasted heels. I reach Doctor Carmack's office first and quickly enter the correct key code, followed by a biometric scan of my hand. The panel turns green, and says ' _Welcome, Doctor Cohen._ " As the doors slide open, I glance behind me, just in time to see Carmack come up behind me, grab my hand and pull me into his office. He then presses the panel to close the doors.

"Doctor Carmack! Doctor Carmack!" Patricia Tellman, one of Carmack's assistants, is running towards us, begging for Carmack to keep the doors open for her.

"She's not going to make it. We have to help her." I say, stepping forward. Carmack, still gripping my arm, holds me back.

"It's too late." He says quietly.

Patricia keeps shouting and reaching for Carmack as she nears, the doors still closing. Just behind her I can see a shadow of...something. It's big, and fast. Really fast. It's chasing her.

Just before the doors close, Patricia's arm gets caught in the door. I step back and gasp, covering my mouth with my hand as I watch. Whatever was chasing her caught up. The arm is yanked up before severing completely. The next thing I know, the banging starts on the door and it's starting to cave.

"W-what was that?" I ask quietly and look up into a panicked face, his eyes wild.

"I'm so sorry. It was an accident-"

The banging on the door grows louder as the monster tries its hardest to get through. To us. "What was that thing?" I ask quietly again and glance at Carmack. He has already moved to his computer.

"This is Doctor Carmack at Classified Research, Olduvai. ID 6627." I can see the light on showing he's recording himself. Carmack is reflected on the screen, and myself in the background. He glances back at me, and then at the door with the loud pounding resonating through the office. "We have a level five breach! Implement quarantine procedures now!"

"A breach? Breach of what? Carmack!" I shout, and Carmack turns to look at me. "What the HELL was that?"

Carmack silently turns back to the computer screen. "God help us all." He says quietly before ending the transmission.

The banging on the door gets even louder and the door dents further, making me back away from it. "Doctor Carmack?!" My voice is barely above a whisper and full of fear. My fear. As though sensing it, the creature or monster or whatever, starting banging harder on the door, followed by inhuman screams.

Carmack approaches me. "I'm so sorry. This was a mistake." He says.

"What is going on?" I ask, not really sure if I want to know.

"Penny, you have to escape." He says simply, pulling me towards the far wall. He then quickly steps onto the desk and pulls off the grating to the air vents in the ceiling, and places it on the desk next to him. He then holds out his hand to me. "Come."

I don't hesitate and grab his hand, letting him pull me up onto the desk with him. "You must escape, and warn them. We made a terrible mistake." He then cups his hands to help me up into the vent. I take my heels off and throw them into the vent, before using Carmack's hands as a helping step. Once I'm in I awkwardly manoeuvre myself to look back down the vent and to help Carmack up. I instead see him about to put the grating back.

"Doctor Carmack, no. You need to come with me." I whisper desperately.

He shakes his head with a sad smile. "Get away from here, and don't look back." He says before pushing the grating into place. "Go!" He hisses when he sees me not moving.

"No, you can't." I say, my voice cracking.

Carmack steps down from the desk. "Go!" He insists one last time before turning to the door. To face the monster.

I can only watch in horror as the door is broken through, and the monster I saw before enters the office. Carmack cowers before it, backing away. He doesn't even glance my way. The monster spits out an enormously long tongue and wraps it around Carmack's neck. Carmack's screams intermingle with the monsters terrible howling. I cover my ears but can't completely block it out. Unable to bear the assault on my ears, I back away from the grating, as quietly as I can. For what seems like hours, I navigate through the maze of vents and ducts in the ceiling, praying that nothing is coming after me. I'm usually not so fond of small places, after what happened to my parents, but the tightness is comforting if it means the monster can't follow. I hope it can't follow. As I crawl I'm constantly looking back over my shoulder, always wary for any sound that may indicate my impending doom. I must stay quiet. I must stay unseen.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope this turned out alright. I have written a lot of** **fan fiction but this is my first time ever publishing so please go easy on me in the reviews. Also, I have finished this story so you won't have to wait so long for an update ;)**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Oops, I forgot the Disclaimer in my first published story, _(Facepalm),_ so here it is.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Doom or anything, or anyone associated with it. I only own Penny.**

 **Aaaaannd, without further ado, here is Chapter 2.**

* * *

Chapter Two

"Crap. Crap. Crap." I curse over and over again in a whisper as I make my way quietly through the darkened hallways. I'd tried to get to the airlock and away from here but the lab is in lockdown. My codes are no longer valid. All I can do now is hide, now that escape is out of the question, until UAC sends in some help. My bare feet pad silently as I walk, I've long since abandoned my heels, the things making far too much noise for my liking. And I lost my glasses somewhere in the dark vent, so I'm slightly blind as it is.

The lights are out, making it seem more eerie. Not that the place needed to be more scary. The monster did that on its own. After I escaped the vent and found the lab under lockdown, I managed to get close to the Weapons Lab, but there was the monster patrolling the hallway. I nearly cried on the spot. All I can do is avoid The Thing until help comes. Carmack warned the outside and surely someone will come. Someone has to. Noah will surely insist on it. I hope.

I walk slowly, my back against the door, along the corridor. I peek around a corner, and my eyes widen in fright. I pull my head back and cover my mouth with my hands to stop myself from screaming. It's right there, walking down the corridor away from me. I can only pray that it won't notice me, or hear me. I slowly back away, back down the hallway. My steps are slow and light as a feather. There's a broom closet not far from me, just a few metres down. I need to hide and right now, that's the closest place from me.

I tiptoe towards the broom closet, ever so carefully and silently. A small rumbling sound comes from behind me, stopping me dead in my tracks, the blood rushing from face. My face scrunches into a grimace and my heart pounds loudly as I hear the sound again. Oh hell. There's something behind me... I slowly turn to look, all the while chanting _please be nothing there, please be nothing there, please nothing there,_ like a mantra in my head. As though repeating it over and over again will somehow make it come true.

My breathing hitches as I come face to face with the creature, and my blood runs cold. It's breath smells like death on my face. The thing bares its teeth and growls loudly at me. I let out the scream I've been holding for who knows how long, ear splitting and fearful. I turn on my heel and bolt down the hallway as fast as I can, suddenly really glad that I'd ditched my high heels. I keep on screaming while I run down hallways and past labs. I don't know where I'm running to, only away. Away from fear and hell itself.

At the end of the hallway is my own lab. A plan begins to form in my head and I run faster. As I reach the doorway, I grab the side and drop to the ground, sliding to the side and out of the way. The monster runs into the room, and I quickly stand and exit the room. I close the door, and run away. I don't look back, not even to see if the monster was trapped.

As I run down the hallway towards safety, I notice a maintenance shaft set into the wall. The perfect hiding place. I lunge for it, pulling the grate off and sliding inside. I then pull the grate back on and lean against the wall. For the first time since Carmack pulled me into his office, I sit still. The adrenaline wears off and fatigue sets in. I'm tired. So tired. My eyelids feel heavy, and my breathing slows. My consciousness fades into dreamless oblivion.

-000-

"Aircraft ready to load." Comes a message over comms.

"Copy that." Answers Sarge through the comm link as they walk to the helicopter.

"Great vacation." Duke scoffs. "Damn they go quick."

"Almost like we've never been away." Destroyer says.

RRTS team 6 exit the hanger and approach the helicopter. Once they're onboard the helicopter, they near their designated seats and weapons.

Destroyer picks up his gun and kisses the beloved weapon. A computerised voice authorises the weapon release. "RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle ID Destroyer."

Destroyer sits with his large weapon on his lap. "Daddy's home." He says with a large smirk.

The team follow.

"RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle ID Mac."

"RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle ID Portman."

"RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle ID Goat."

"RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle ID The Kid."

"The Kid?" Asks Kid unhappy with his Handle ID.

"RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle ID Duke."

"Say my name, baby." Duke smirks.

"RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle ID Sarge."

"I can't believe we're going through the ark." Kid shouts over the hum of the rotor blades.

"Don't worry, Kid. You're going to love it." Duke says with a smile as he settles back into his seat.

"All set?" Sarge calls to the pilot.

"Yes, sir."

Before Sarge could close the door, a hand lands on his, and John Grimm steps into the chopper. He and Sarge share a look before he approaches his seat and lifts his gun. Sarge can only smirk as he closes the door, as if to say he should've known.

"RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle ID Reaper." Comes the computerised voice as Reaper sits down.

"Take us up!" Sarge orders and the chopper begins take sequences.

The chopper lifts up off the ground and starts its travel towards the ark.

"You know, Kid, it's funny." Portman starts and the Kid takes the bait, leaning forward to listen with interest. "Couple of days ago I asked Sarge for a little pussy." Portman pushes his comm into his ear. "And the next day he brought you onto the team." Kid's face falls at this revelation.

"Don't give me an excuse, Portman!" Reaper shouts. "No one here will miss you."

"Men, look in." Sarge draws their attention to him and the 43 inch screen set into the wall behind him. "This is what we got from Sincom. We have a quarantine situation on Olduvai. They sent this mission when the research team stopped responding to all communication."

"Olduvai." Goat breathes unhappily.

Sarge presses a button and the screen comes to life. The face of an older man comes onto the screen.

" _This is Doctor Carmack at Classified Research, Olduvai. ID 6627._ " Carmack glances back at someone in the background. A woman. Reaper stares at the screen with great intensity as he begins to recognise her.

"Penny?" Reaper whispers the question quietly. Can it be her? She's on Olduvai?

" _We have a level five breach! Implement quarantine procedures now!"_

 _"_ _A breach? Breach of what? Carmack!"_ The woman, Penny, shouts and Carmack looks back at her briefly. _"What the HELL was that?"_

Carmack silently turns back to face forward. _"God help us all."_ He says quietly before the transmission ends.

Reaper stares at the now black screen, his mind a storm of emotions at the revelation that Penny Cohen is on Olduvai, that she's at the centre of the breach.

"UAC has shut down the lab, men." Sarge says. "We need to go up there and locate the team, eliminate the threat and secure the facility."

"What threat?" Ask the Kid.

Duke leans over. "It goes like this, see, if it's trying to kill ya, it's a threat."

As Sarge walks past, he ruffles the Kid's hair and moves on. He takes his seat opposite Reaper and begins to ready himself. He checks his gun, he pulls his gloves on tighter and settles back. He looks opposite him and sees Reaper sitting stoically, his head down, looking down at the floor.

"How long's it been?" Sarge asks.

"Ten years." Reaper responds, looking up.

"You sure she's even still up there?"

"Yeah." Reaper's voice is barely above a whisper. "I guess you gotta face your demons sometime." He mutters in thought. He then looks straight at his OC. "It gets worse." Sarge leans closer. "The woman behind Doctor Carmack...it's Penny."

Sarge frowns in thought. "Which Penny? _The_ Penny?" Reaper nods, and he has a troubled expression on his face.

"Penny Cohen."

The lights in the chopper go dark and turn red. For a few moments Sarge and Reaper continue to look at each other before Sarge reassuringly punches Reaper lightly. As though to say it'll be okay, before Sarge focusses on the mission at hand.

"Look alive, men. It's game time."


	4. Chapter 3

**Okay, so I thought the last chapter was really short, so I'm** **giving you another chapter to read on the dame day. Yay!**

 **Anyway, here it is, chapter 3. Enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Doom, only Penny.**

* * *

Chapter 3

I'm startled awake, and for a moment, I don't know where I am. My mind is still drifting in the endless oblivion of sleep. I carefully look around me and find I'm in some kind of large vent, with wires and conduits running through it. It's dark, the light coming through the grating is minimal, if nonexistent. My thoughts continue to wander about why the fuck I'm in what seems to be the maintenance shaft, let alone sleeping in it, then everything comes crashing down on me. I remember Carmack and the monster. I must have fallen asleep in here as the adrenalin wore off. I blink back a floodgate of tears threatening to burst through the dam. I can't lose myself now, not until I'm totally out of here and safe. And I don't know what woke me up in the first place.

I strain my ears for any sound, any indication of what startled me awake. At first I don't hear anything, but then the sound of running comes from the distance. I can hear heavy footsteps as they run along the corridor. There's more than one, and shouts begin to drift towards me as they near. Is that gunfire? It's help! Help has finally come! Maybe now I can get out of here.

"It's moving fast!"

"Confirm contact moving fast down the south corridor."

I can hear more bullets echoing through the silence and shouts. I breathe heavily as the sounds begin to move away. Oh no. No, please. Come back! Please! I scream in my heard for no one to hear. It's a wonder why they didn't hear me, I think sarcastically.

I quickly and silently push the grating off the shaft, leaving it on the ground, as I move towards the gunfire and help.

Still fearing what may lay ahead, I creep slowly, but determinedly. My heart begins to race, and my breathing becomes more forced. I can do this. It's going to be okay, Penny. Help has arrived. The marines. RRTS. They'll protect me. For a split second I wondered if it was John's team, but pushed that thought out of my head. He wouldn't come back here in a million years. No way.

After the accident killed his parents and mine, any mention of Olduvai would set him off into a quickly depreciating state of unease and melancholy. I learned to avoid the subject completely. Which is why, when I got a job here, I didn't tell him. I couldn't. I knew he'd worry about me incessantly until I was back on earth. Then he'd try everything he could to get me to quit Olduvai. No. It was best not to tell him. And since I made my idiot cousin, and John's best friend, promise to not mention it, he'll never find out. I hope he never finds out!

I take a deep courage gathering breath to clear my tired and wandering thoughts, and move around the corner. At least they've stopped shooting. I won't get hit by any stray bullets. As I get nearer I can hear talking. I get closer and hear what they're saying.

"Sam I told you to stay."

"But he knows me, John." Is that Sam's voice? It seems like weeks since I last heard the sound of her voice. I saw her for dinner only hours ago. "Doctor Carmack, it's me, Samantha. Where are the others? Where are they? Steve? Hillary? Where's Penny?" I get closer, and see Sam kneeling on the floor. She's dressed in her usual white, her blonde hair up and out of her face. "I'm not going to hurt you." She says soothingly.

I stop dead in my tracks when I see Carmack in the corner on the floor, clutching a severed arm. He and Sam are surrounded by men in black RRTS military uniforms and guns in their hands. They watch him carefully as Sam tends to Carmack.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Sam repeats soothingly.

Carmack suddenly drops the severed arm and in one quick, fluid motion, he rips his ear off and discards it on the ground. Sam gasps and swears, and stares at the severed ear and Carmack, unable to understand why he would do such a thing. "Get a med kit." She shouts, holding out her hand.

"Oh my." Someone chuckles.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Sam repeats.

Carmack slumps against the wall, suddenly tired, his energy spent. He keeps licking his lips and his eyes dart all around him, unfocused and confused, until they land on me, and his eyes focus.

"Duke, you and Doctor Grimm will take Doctor Carmack to the infirmary. Portman, Kid, go to the airlock and dig in. Anything trying to to get away from us will get driven straight to you. Now let's see if we can find the body that goes with that arm." A giant soldier, obviously the leader, ordered his men, his voice stern and leaves no room for argument.

Carmack leans forward, towards me. "Penny." My name escapes his lips like a long forgotten secret, turning the air cold. It sounded sad, and relieved, and surprised all at the same time. My heart felt heavy. As the men start to move on their OC's orders, they spot me and stop dead in their tracks.

I shake my head in disbelief. "You're dead." I breathe quietly, my mind struggling to believe what I'm seeing. It can't be true. I saw him killed by the monster. Sam turns to me, having heard me, or Carmack. I don't know which.

"Penny." Sam says my name, relief evident on her face as she stands up and turns to me. "Thank god, you're okay." She breathes.

I barely register one of the men walk slowly towards me. My eyes are on Carmack, our gazes locked. Carmack's neck and the left side of his head is covered in blood. He looks really pale, and his skin is coated in a fine layer of sweat. Carmack shifts forward, and reaches his hand out to me, the sudden movement startling me. I take a few steps back, shaking my head repeatedly, my composure falling apart, before I turn on my heels and run. "No, no, no, no." I say over and over again.

"Penny!" Someone shouts my name but I don't stop. My body is reacting on its own, desperate to get away. Carmack is dead. That isn't Carmack. It's not safe here. I must get back to my vent.

"Penny, stop!" I hear the voice again and it rings the a bell of recognition and familiarity, but I don't know why, and I can't look back now. I'm scared of what I might see.

I still hear my name being shouted behind me, and I can hear footsteps. They're fast and loud so they're running behind me. Adrenalin from my fight or flight response courses through my veins and fuels me, and let's me run faster.

"Penny!"

"Doctor Cohen!"

"Stop!"

I can hear the shouts but I can't stop. My body keeps moving regardless of what my brain is telling it. All those years of track in high school has trained me to have a runners body. Even after high school I kept on running. I loved the freedom of running. From the sounds of the footsteps and the shouting, I'm outrunning whoever is chasing me.

As I turn a few corners I near the maintenance shaft I previously occupied and dive for it. For safety. I quickly pull the grating into place and back away from it, sitting in the foetal position. Then I freeze completely when I hear the footsteps draw closer. I try to calm my breathing and stay quiet. I can feel tears flowing freely down my face.

"Where'd she go?" I hear a voice.

"I don't know."

"She disappeared."

"Penny!" There's another voice. Like before this one still sounds familiar. My ears and my mind still buzzes with with terror and adrenalin.

After a few moments of silence I can see someone squat beside me through the grating. "Penny?" He says. For a split second my heart stops at being found out but then my mind starts to work. I know that voice. John?

He easily pries off the grating from the wall and leans it against the wall next to the shaft. I look straight into John's eyes and frown. Is it really him? The last time I saw him was three years ago. He looks a little older now, and his slight beard growth makes him look more rough around the edges. But he still has those hazel green eyes that can always seem to look straight through me.

"Hey, Penny." He says gently, as though talking to a child.

"John?" I somehow find my voice and it's full of disbelief.

"Yeah. It's me." He gives me a small smile to reassure me.

"I didn't think you'd come." I say.

His expression falters ever so slightly. "I had to." He says quietly, as his gaze studies me. "You okay?" He asks. "You hurt?" He's looking at something on my dress and when a glance down I can see the blood even in the darkness.

I look back at him. "It's not mine." I whisper "I-I don't know where-It's not mine." I stutter. Where did the blood come from?

He seems to see the panic in my face and tries to calm. "It's okay, it's okay. You're okay."

I nod, choosing to rather focus on him than on my bloodied clothes. Where did the blood come from? I've been crawling around vents and creeping along walls, so I guess I may have picked it up from anywhere. I try not to think whose it is.

Another man, a soldier I'd guess since he's dressed the same as John, comes down to my level. He crouches next to John and peers into the shaft, straight at me.

"Doctor Cohen, I'm Sergeant Mahonin, but you can call me Sarge. Glad to see you're doing alright." He says, his voice stern and controlled. "Is there anyone else alive?" He asks.

I frown. "I don't think so." I shake my head.

"What happened?" John asks.

"I don't know. It came out of nowhere and killed everyone." I answer, trying to keep my voice calm.

"Wait, it? What the fuck is it?" Comes an irritated voice from behind them, I can't see him.

"Shut it, Portman!" Shouts Sarge over his shoulder. Portman huffs in impatience. Sarge and John turn back to me.

I answer Portman anyway. "I don't know what 'it' is. Doctor Carmack said it was an accident, that they made a mistake."

"Doctor Carmack said that?" Sarge asks.

I nod. "Yes. Right before he was killed."

John and Sarge glance at each other. "Penny, Doctor Carmack is alive, you saw him." John says.

"I know but..well...I never saw him die, but the screams..." My voice cracks as the memory flashes in my mind. "There's no way he could've survived."

"Can you describe _it_?" Sarge asks.

"Not really, it was dark. It's big and fast. The best way to describe it...it's a monster." I reply.

"A monster? We're not here to fight a fucking monster. It's just some crazy employee with a gun." Portman shouts again with irritation.

"Portman!" Sarge warns with a menacing voice. Portman quietens then.

"Penny, I think you were scared, and your imagination got the best of you." John says in a matter of fact voice. Wrong thing to say. My eyes snap to his.

"I know what I saw, John. I wasn't hallucinating." Surprisingly, I sounded stronger than I've felt in hours, but my rational mind begins to process things. A monster? What the hell, Penny. You may as well have said aliens have come to invade Mars. "Maybe." I end off, now starting to doubt what I've experienced.

John looks at me with concern and pity. "Come on, let's get you out of here and to the infirmary. Sound good?" I nod in agreement and he holds his hand out to me.

I take his hand, so much warmer and more confident than mine, and helps me out of the maintenance shaft. He smiles a small smile of triumph down at me once I'm out.

I glance around me and see that I'm standing in front of a small group of marines all dressed in black and very heavily armed. I'm introduced to them all. Portman, Destroyer, The Kid, Goat, and John was Reaper.

"Goat, escort Doctor Cohen to the infirmary." Goat nods. "In the meantime, we have a body to find to go with that arm." Sarge orders.

"I'll take her." John pipes up, glancing at me.

Sarge glares down at John, who holds the gaze confidently, before glancing at Goat. Goat shrugs.

"Alright. Reaper takes Doctor Cohen to the infirmary. You have five minutes."

"Wait, why does Reaper get to take the pretty lady doctor? Let me take her." Portman leers at me and I shift uncomfortably. I'd rather not spend any time with this creep.

"Move out, Portman." Sarge orders, steering Portman away from us. Goat and Destroyer dip their head in acknowledgment before following their leader. I turn to John.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Okay peeps, here is chapter 4.** **Enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Doom, only Penny.**

 **: Thanks for the reviews, always nice to get some feedback :)**

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Chapter 4

"So. Reaper, huh? As in Grim?" I raise an eyebrow at John as we walk towards the infirmary. He just rolls his eyes and opens his mouth to say something. "Clever." I say before he could reply. He smirks at me.

"Sam doesn't like it." He says.

"Yeah, well, Sam just can't stand the thought of you doing anything besides science." I reply. It seems weird to have such a normal conversation when I was running for my life only an hour ago. But John makes me feel safe. He's always made me feel safe.

"What about you?" He asks hesitantly. "What do you think?"

I pretend to think about it. Honestly, I was a little disappointed that someone as smart as John would throw it all away to become a marine. A grunt. That being said... "I think you should do what makes you happy. Life's too short to spend it doing something you don't like, or feel uncomfortable with." I glance at him and for a moment our eyes lock. My heart skips a beat, his eyes are looking straight through me again. I break the contact first and move on.

"Is that why you chose Olduvai?" His voice is cold as he asks that question.

I don't look at him when I answer. "I chose Olduvai because this is where my parents were. They were happy here."

"But they all also died here. How can you be here and know that?"

I stop and turn to face John. "Yes, Olduvai is the place of my darkest memory, but it's also the place of my happiest memories with them. I loved Olduvai as a child, and I kind of still do."

He looks at me with confusion and disbelief. He then asks me the question that he's really wanted the answer to. "Why didn't you tell me? You've been on Olduvai for three years and never in all that time did you mention it to me. Why?"

"It's not exactly something I could write in the annual birthday card, is it?" I sigh. "I tried to tell you, when I got the job, I tried calling you, to meet and talk." My voice rises an octave as my emotions begin to flurry. "I tried for two years, John, but you made it clear you weren't interested in hearing from me. So don't you dare turn this on me. You left first. You left me." I stare into his eyes and my heart breaks as I note the sadness them. Why is he sad? And why does my heart ache? Oh God. I'm still in love with him. I quickly blink back tears and turn to walk away from him.

John walks quietly behind me as we head towards the infirmary, while my own mind is in turmoil at the sudden revelation. How can I still be in love with him? I'd moved on, hadn't I? He doesn't harbour any feelings for me apart from an old childhood friend, and I had Noah now. Okay, so I'm not in love Noah, at all. I'm not even sure if I really liked the guy, but it did feel nice to be in a relationship. If Noah came up to me at that moment and asked to break up, I would've said okay. I wouldn't even feel bad about it, though maybe a little more lonely. But that's it.

In no time at all, we arrive at the infirmary and walk through the nano wall.

"Penny!" A woman shouts and wraps her arms around me the moment I step through the nano wall. "I'm so glad you're okay." Sam says into my ear.

I hug her back. "Me too." I reply quietly. I am really, really glad that I'm okay.

Sam lets me go then to look at me. "You look like hell." She says, chuckling with relief. I chuckle with her, before looking at John.

"You can thank your brother for my safety." I say, my eyes once again lock with his. Breaking the contact, I look at Sam again. She's glancing between me and John with a strange look in her eyes. A second later it was gone, as though it was never there.

"I gotta go, before Sarge shoots my ass." John speaks up, shifting the gun strap to a more comfortable position. "I'll see you later, Penny, Sam. Duke." He nods in Duke's direction before leaving through the nano wall once again.

"Oh, look at you. You're a mess." Sam says, looking me over, and rubbing my arms for warmth.

"Yeah. It's been a...weird...day." I reply with a shrug as I look down at myself. My dress is ripped in places here and there, and there are a number of blood smears. My white lab coat is covered in dust and blood and ripped as well. My feet are bare and has tiny scratches on them and grazes. I can only imagine what my face and hair look like.

"I wouldn't worry about it, you are still one very attractive woman." Duke says, and I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, I'm sure the bloodied and ripped look is all the rage back on earth." I snark, before smiling at my own poor attempt at joke.

"Hey, a sense of humour. You're going to be just fine, doc." Duke smiles at me. I smile back, the violence and nightmare behind me for now.

"Come on, Penny, let's check you over, then you can clean up a bit." Sam leads me to the examining bed. I pull myself onto the bed and relax. I'm safe. Sam's safe. The marines are here to sort everything out.

Duke gracefully supervises Doctor Willits, Steve's wife, as she works on examining Carmack while Sam examines me. Apart from a few bruises, I'm totally unharmed. Once Sam gives me a clean bill of health, she gives me some clean clothes and lets me bathe in privacy behind the curtain. I wash the blood and the nightmare off and change into some more comfortable clothes; pale mint green medical scrubs and white tennis shoes. I toss my old clothes into the biohazard bin and approach Sam and Duke.

"What's up?" I ask as Sam hovers next to Doctor Willits drawing blood from Carmack.

"That does not look right." Duke says, staring at the tube filling up with bright red blood. There seems to be black granules in it.

"What is that?" I ask, frowning.

Sam holds the tube up in front of her eyes. "I haven't got a clue. Let's find out." She then proceeds to analyse it with the lab's state of the art computer system.

As she and Doctor Willits work, Duke and I are left to wander about the place. Just as I've reached my twentieth rotation the phone starts to ring.

"Penny, Pinky says it's for you. Someone named Stafford?" Duke says.

I run to the phone. "Noah!"

"Penny, thank god you're alright." I hear Noah's voice over the phone as he expresses his relief in my survival. I reassure him that I'm okay. In the background, Duke and Sam talk.

"So who's this Stafford guy?" Dukes asks.

Sam looks up from her work and glances at me. "Noah Stafford, he's some big shot lawyer in UAC, and Penny boyfriend." Sam answers.

Duke looks at her and me in surprise. "Boyfriend? Such a loss." He shakes his head as he examines me.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Noah asks for the billionth time.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The RRTS team found me and now I'm in the infirmary."

"Do we know what happened?"

"Um...no. Not yet. RRTS is investigating but nothing yet."

"What about Doctor Carmack and his team? Are they okay?"

I frown at Noah's question. It's a reasonable question but something in his voice sounds...off.

"Penny?"

"Uh...not really, no. Doctor Carmack is here in the infirmary but he's not looking too good at the moment. He's not talking either."

"Okay good." What? "It's good he's alive." Noah backtracks. "Do we have his research data?"

I blink in surprise. Did I hear right? "What?"

"His research data, Penny, do we have it?" Noah insists impatiently.

"No. We're still under quarantine. His data is on a separate drive in his office." I reply quietly. I hear Duke and Sam talking amongst themselves. She's smiling and...flirting?

"We need that data, you need to get it."

"People are dying, Noah, forget the data." I hiss into the phone.

"You need to get that data, Penny. Whatever you do, you can't leave it behind."

My frown deepens. Why is he insisting on Carmack's data? What was he researching on anyway. "Noah, what was Doctor Carmack and his team doing?"

"Get that data, Penny. I'm nearly at the Earth side ark now, I'll meet you soon." He hangs up.

I stare at the receiver. He hung up? He hung up. I curse silently as I place the receiver back into the cradle. What the 'F' was that about?

Noah had sounded off, and seemed to care more about the research data than me. He insisted on Carmack's research data, no one else's. Not even mine.

"Penny? Everything okay?" Sam calls me out of my thoughts, she's looking at me with mild concern in her eyes.

I give her a reassuring smile. "Yeah. Everything's fine." I lie. It's not fine. What was Carmack up to? How is Noah involved? Something's off.

I watch as Sam, Doctor Willits and Duke turn their attention back to Carmack's blood tests. I can no longer sit still. My thoughts are in turmoil. I need to take a look at Carmack's research data, but that means going back into the hell. It means facing my worst feels. The typical scientist that I am, my curiosity gets the better of me.

Sam, Duke and Doctor Willits are too focused on Carmack, so I easily slip out the infirmary without being noticed. I grab a scalpel on my way out for protection. I know a tiny blade isn't the best defensive weapon but I just grabbed the first one.

I'd half expected to see one or two of the marines on the way but there's no one. Something must have drawn them away. I hope.

The corridors are as dark and haunting as before. Why am I doing this again? I must have some kind of death wish, I sigh as I quickly make my way towards Carmack's office.

I stop as I see the doors. They're bent and damaged beyond repair. They won't even open for sure. I see blood smeared on the floor and the door, from Patricia's arm. There's more blood inside the office on the floor.

I carefully climb through the hole in the doors and avoid a pool of Carmack's blood on the floor. This room smells of death just like before and it's dark, and it's littered with debris. It looks like a war zone. I take a deep breath and focus instead on Carmack's computer.

I rush over to it and pick up a knocked over chair on the way before settling into it.

The computer is switched on already and after logging on with my identification codes, I begin my search of the data. I continually look over my shoulder every five minutes.


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doom, _sigh_. **

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Chapter 5

"Oh shit."

Goat is hurriedly carried into the infirmary, bleeding profusely through his neck wound.

"What happened?" Sam asks, taking in the dying man.

"He was talking about Devils." Portman answers her as he grabs an IV bag and line and rushes back to Goat. "All this bible shit. Good and evil. Devils among us."

"Let's get this vest off!" Reaper shouts, tending to Goat.

"Come on."

Sarge watches as Goat is hooked up to the monitors and IV lines. His pulse is checked and everyone crowds around him.

"Got a weak pulse." Duke exclaims.

"Portman, put a line in here." Reaper orders.

"Come on, man." Destroyer insists as he uses a bag to help Goat breathe again. The beeping on the monitor is painfully slow.

"Kid keep pressure on that wound." Reaper continues. "How's the pulse?"

Duke shakes his head. "I'm losing him."

"Sam, give me a shot of adrenalin." Reaper says to his sister.

Suddenly the monitor flatlines. "We lost him." Duke says grimly.

"Okay, let's defib!" Reaper announces, grabbing the paddles.

As his team continues to revive Goat, Sarge looks around the infirmary and spots the empty medical bed. "Where the hell's Carmack?" He asks.

Sam looks up answers him. "He disappeared." She says with a shake of her head.

"What do you mean he disappeared?" Sarge asks, irritated.

"He's gone." Sam insists. "He disappeared."

Goat flatlines again.

"Okay, going to defib." Reaper places the paddles onto Goat's chest and side. "Clear." Reaper shocks Goat, and a single beat on the monitor leads to another flatline.

"No response." Reaper says.

"We're losing him." Duke says in disbelief.

"Sam, give me that adrenalin." Reaper says and injects it directly into Goat's heart. Another heartbeat and another flatline. "Okay, going again." He says charging the paddles. "Clear."

The flatline continues and everyone stares at the straight line on the monitor, until someone switches it off. Goat is gone.

"He's gone." Reaper says grimly, breathing heavily. He then pulls Goat's tags off him and kicks at a sterile steel tray table in anger and grief. He stares at Goat's lifeless body. How could this have happened? He wasn't supposed to die. He sighs and runs a frustrated hand through his hair. He should've been able to save Goat. Only one question runs through his mind. Why?

He then looks around the infirmary, and notices Carmack isn't the only one missing. "Where's Penny?" He asks Sam.

She shakes her head. "I don't know." She whispers, her voice full of dread.

-000-

I stare in horror at what I've just seen. "Bastard!" I shout, not caring who hears. The monster can come in now and I won't care. I deserve to die like the others. That monster, no, Stahl, we caused it. But why? Why did Stahl turn out like that when Lucy didn't? It doesn't make sense.

I feel like I'm going to be sick, but I hold off on throwing up the entire contents of my stomach and reach for a spare storage disk and proceed to copy the data. After about twenty minutes, transfer is complete and I decide to head back to the infirmary.

I tuck the storage disk into one of the deep pockets in my scrub pants for safe keeping and logout of the computer. After listening for any suspicious sounds, I climb through the hole in the doors once again when I hear all is quiet.

Feeling uncomfortable and alone in the nightmarish corridors, I hurry along, keeping alert for anything suspicious. As I reach the end of the corridor I realise with horror that I've left my stolen scalpel behind back on the desk of Carmack's office. For a moment I consider going back for it but that means going back there. To hell with it, I'll just keep going.

Now knowing I'm without a weapon, my haste towards the airlock and safety increases. I turn around the corner and bump into someone. Fearing it may be the monster again I can't help but let out a scream and jump back, my back hitting the wall.

"Shh, Penny, it's just us."

"John." I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Doctor Cohen." Sarge steps forward, past John and another marine, and he does not look happy. He looks pissed. "You left the infirmary without telling anyone. Why? What're you doing here?" He asks, his steely gaze keeping mine locked in place.

I glance at John but he's also waiting for my answer. The other marine is quiet, his face passive. "I...uh...I was in Doctor Carmack's office...to...uh...get...his...research data?" Well I'm not lying. "His computer is kept offline from the main server. We've had connection issues for a while." Also not a lie.

Sarge carries on looking at me, as does John. Does he not believe me? "Research data?" Sarge asks. "Alright then." He then comes even closer to me and points a finger at me. "Don't do it again." He says before moving away. I breathe another sigh of relief.

"You should've told someone." John says coming close to me. "And you shouldn't have gone alone. What were you thinking?" He chastises me.

"I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't thinking. It won't happen again." I say.

"You're damn straight it won't happen again, because from now on, you're not leaving my sight." Sarge says suddenly, leaving no room for argument.

"What?" I stare at the man in shock from this sudden turn of events.

"You've made it clear that you can't stay at the infirmary so from here on out, you're sticking with us." Sarge insists. John frowns at this.

"Wait, she's staying with us? Why?" John asks.

"UAC orders. We're to ensure the safety and evacuation of one Penny Cohen." Sarge answers.

"Who's orders? Who told you to do that?" I ask, not really believing it. Then realisation dawns on me. "It was Noah Stafford, wasn't it." That asshole. That weasel. That...bastard. I continue to call Stafford a number of crude names. If he thinks our relationship is okay after this, he's sorely mistakenly.

"No. This came from the top." He says, throwing me off. Oh no. If this came from the top, then that means...grandpa?

"Wait, who's Stafford?" John asks, trying to keep up.

"Some big shot at UAC head office." I sigh with frustration. "And...he's my boyfriend. Though, it'll soon be ex-boyfriend once this nightmare is over." I growl.

"Your boyfriend?" John looks at me, shock and horror etched into his face.

"Yes, John. I date people, like a normal person. Is that a problem?" I eye him.

He begins to fidget under my harsh scrutiny. "No. No problem." He says quickly.

"Let's go, children." Sarge says, moving down the corridor, his gun at the ready.

"Doctor Cohen." Nods the other marine. "I'm Mac." He says before following his commanding officer.

"Mac?" I ask, confused.

"Don't ask." Mac says without looking back.

I look at John but he shakes his head. He then gestures for me to go ahead and I follow Mac with John right behind me.

"So where are we going?" I ask John quietly.

He glances at me before answering grimly. "To the dig site." My face drops, and he notices. John raises a questioning eyebrow. "It's not my favourite place." I admit solemnly. He gives me a look of understanding.

The rest of the way, I stay quiet. The dig site is where my parents died, so I don't usually come down here. I hate it really. In all my three years here at Olduvai, I've only ever been there twice. Now it'll be my third.

"Pinky, we're entering the archeological dig." Sarge says quietly into his comm.

I hang back a little as Sarge, Mac and John start to clear the area, and follow them inside.

"Cover the exit." Sarge says to Mac quietly.

Mac sets himself at the exit and looks ready to shoot at anything that comes too close.

"Come on, Doc." Sarge calls me quietly, and I roll my eyes. I really don't like this arrangement.

I throw Mac a half smile as I walk past him and deeper into the dig. It's eerily creepy in here and I choose to stick close to John. He barely glances at me as he continues to search the area, his flashlight lighting the dark.

Suddenly, a few loose rocks from the stone wall fall. John stares at them uncomfortably. I know how he feels. Just the image of that rockfall sends me back to the day our parents died. There was a lot of panic when it happened, and I remember the shouts. When the panic reached us, I didn't know my parents were already dead.

Feeling eyes on me, I look up and see John's gaze is on me, analysing me. My face is an open book to the emotions I'm feeling right now, and John can see it. Not wanting to worry him further, I throw him a small reassuring smile. He looks away and moves on without saying a word, I follow close behind. He approaches a window and opens the shutters and stares out onto the actual dig.

Sarge is behind us, and I glance at him as he nears. "Is this where it happened?" He asks, looking at John. When he doesn't say anything Sarge looks to me. I nod gently, before looking back at John. He hasn't moved a muscle.

"Did you find the door?" John asks. Sarge glances at me before moving on.

The silence stretches on until I can't bear it any more. "I don't blame you." I say gently and quietly from beside him. "For hating this place." He doesn't look at me. His eyes are haunting and full of pain. My own heart is heavy at how he's suffering just by being here. "John, the reason I didn't tell you I'm working at Olduvai, is I didn't want you to hate me for choosing to work here." I say slowly and quietly. He turns to look at me, his eyes locking with mine and sending the butterflies in my stomach into overdrive. I swallow my anxiety. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you." I breathe.

There's a heavy silence between us and I wonder if I did the right thing by admitting to him how I truly felt.

He steps closer to me, and my heart starts racing at the proximity. "I could never hate you, Penny." He says quietly, and sighs before reluctantly continuing. "Look, I'm sorry if I made you feel like I left you. I never wanted-want that. I guess I screwed up." He says with deep disappointment.

I shake my head. "Maybe, but it's never too late to fix it." I say without thinking. Oh, did I just say that? Out loud? Fix it? Fix what?

John stares down at me, his brows furrowed in a light frown. His eyes seem conflicted. As though realising how close we are, he steps back, putting distance between us. I instantly miss his closeness. Ugh, I have it bad. Damn.

"So, this thing with Stafford, is it serious?" He asks suddenly, changing the topic, and catching me totally off guard.

Geez, Noah. I can't think about the guy whenever I'm around John because I'm in love with him, not that son of a bitch Noah Stafford. I shake my head to answer him. "He's just..." What? A lying backstabbing bastard? A weasel who I really want to punch into the next century? Yes to both. I sigh. "It's not serious. At all." I insist maybe a little too strongly because he's frowning again, but I see a small glimmer in his eyes, and it's my turn to frown. Was that hope? Relief?

"John." I hear Sarge's voice through his comm. John glances through the window again before closing the shutters. He then goes after Sarge. I'm hot on heels.

We find Sarge on his knees, leaning over two bodies. I instantly cover my mouth in shock.

"Clay. Thurmon." Sarge reads off the name tags.

John and Sarge look to me and I confirm what they know. "That's them." I say quietly.

Sarge stands. "Look at them. They weren't trying to stop something from getting in. Something stopped them from getting out." He then says into the comm. "Mac, standby. Destroyer report."

I can't tell what's being said over the radio so I wait patiently.

"What was that?" I whisper in slight panic when a noise draws our attention, and John and Sarge look at each other.

"Mac?" John whispers into the comm. before his eyes lock with my fearful ones.

Sarge moves ahead, gun at the ready, trying to reach Mac over comm.'s.

"Stay close." John says to me before he follows Sarge. I quietly run after them, not straying more than two feet away from them.

"Mac, come in. Talk to me, Mac." Sarge has given up on the comm, all the while they move with their guns ready.

As I stay behind them, I'm careful to stay quiet, and on the alert for anything suspicious.

"Shit." Sarge swears as we come close to the entrance. Mac's body is lying the ground while his head is a few feet away. I stare in shock. "Jesus Christ." Sarge whispers.

There is a low but loud growling and my heart stops. It's in here, with us! John is still but looking around wildly, trying to figure out where it came from. He then whirls to the right and starts shooting, making me cover my ears from the loud gunfire. "Contact!" He shouts over to Sarge. He then stops shooting and starts running. "In pursuit, moving fast out of the dig!" He shouts, disappearing down the corridor. Sarge chases after them. I don't wait a split second and run after them both.

Sarge and John work as a team, covering for each other as they chase a shadow ahead. I have a feeling I know what it is. It's the monster. Stahl.

We head back towards the lab complex and John and Sarge stop at a corner. "Clear." John calls out and Sarge walks ahead.

"It's back in the lab." Sarge says.

I peek around John and the corner, out of breath after the sprint, and see a blood trail leading through the airlock.

"This is crazy." I breathe. "It opened the door?" I stare at the door in shock. This creature must have retained some level of intelligence, I realise with a start. Sarge and John glance at me before moving forward.

John rushes to the entrance to the lab complex and stops at a corner. "Clear!" He calls out again, and Sarge moves forward.

"Clear." Sarge shouts. "Damn, it's fast."

I hover by the doorway behind John as the Kid, Destroyer and Portman runs up to us.

"All round defence, men." Sarge orders.

"Did you get it?" The Kid asks.

Sarge shakes his head. "Pinky." He says into his comm. "Anything gets through that door, use an ST grenade. It's can not get back to Earth."

"No, he pops an ST grenade it'll blow the ark." Portman protests.

Sarge ignores him "Kid, Reaper, cover formation sweep the corridor." I watch as John glances back at me before leaving with the kid. "Portman, Destroyer, stay here. Shut the airlock, maintain the perimeter."

"No, if he blows the ark, how the hell are we supposed to get the fuck home?" Portman retorts impatiently.

Sarge glares at him. "Portman, shut the fucking door!" He says.

"Where you going?" Destroyer asks.

Sarge then gestures for me to come closer. What with the situation the way it, I don't hesitate and stop just beside him. He puts a hand on my arm protectively, or to stop me from running away. "We're going to the armoury. I think we're going to need something with a little bit more kick." He says and starts to pull me down the corridor.

A little ways down, Sarge steps in front of me and starts checking the corridor as we go. "Doc, do you have authorised access into the vault in the armoury?" He asks as we make our way down the corridor.

I frown for a second in thought. The vault in the armoury? My eyes widen as I realise what he means. "Oh, you want the Bio Force Gun." Sarge stops and glances back at me. He's still waiting for the answer. "Yes, I have access."

"Good." He says before moving forward again. "Otherwise I'd have to find that arm." He mutters.

I remain quiet the rest of the way to the weapons lab. As soon as we enter, Sarge heads for the vault. He swipes a white card and enters the correct sequence on the key pad.

"Please provide DNA verification sequence." A female computerised voice tells us. Sarge looks at me.

"Doc, if you'd be so kind." He gestures for me to proceed.

"The BFG." I sigh. "I like your style, Sarge." I say as I place my hand onto the panel.

"Welcome, Penny Cohen. Access granted."

The vault door opens and I spot the Bio Force Gun hovering in place on its pedestal. Sarge is standing next to me and staring at it. "Big Fucking Gun." He says slowly with a smirk. "No, Doc. I like _your_ style." He says as he walks up to it. "Ah, shit." He mutters, then turns to me. "Let's go." He says and walks past me and out of the weapons lab.


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doom blah blah blah.**

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Chapter 6

"Portman, come in." Sarge says suddenly into his comm. "Destroyer?"

"What's going on?" I ask quietly. Sarge glances at me.

"We've lost Portman and Destroyer on comm." he says quietly, before looking ahead again. "Stay close." He says quietly as we move on.

For a long while we don't hear anything. Then Sarge's flashlight finds Destroyer's gun. We stop and look around. There's no other sign of them. "Destroyer, Portman, where the hell are ya?" He says again into his comm.

"They can't be far, right?" I say.

Sarge continues on and we go through genetics and into another room with a large drop. It's looks like a holding cell. The same one I saw in the video. Sarge searches it and it's not long until we find Destroyer's body at the bottom.

"Oh no." I breathe, crouching.

"What the hell is this?" Sarge asks quietly.

Before I can answer, something comes through in the comms even I can hear. It sounds like screaming. Sarge rushes out, in search of the source. I glance back at Destroyer's corpse sadly and follow Sarge.

We join up with John and the Kid and rush towards the screaming.

Portman is being banged about by the creature. John and the Kid open fire, then Sarge does. He fires the BFG and sends a giant blue wave of hot energy forwards.

I smell heat and burnt flesh in the air, and my eyes still burn blue from the light.

"Holy shit." Sarge smirks, nodding in approval. The ceiling is still burning from the BFG shot.

John spots me standing on the steps and approaches me as the Kid goes to check on Portman, ducking from the heat.

"You okay?" John asks as he nears. I can see his eyes checking to make sure.

"I'm fine." I reply.

"He's gone." The Kid says from beside Portman, and I clench my jaw in frustration. I didn't really like Portman but no one deserves to die like that. It's terrible.

"Let's get back to the infirmary then..." Sarge turns to me with a scary look in his eyes. "...then you have some explaining to do."

-000-

Sarge carries Destroyer over his soldier into the infirmary, while John carries Portman. I'm right behind John, and the Kid follows me.

"Destroyer?" Duke mutters grimly when he looks our way.

"And Portman." John says.

Duke is now in a state. "Fuck happened, man?" Duke pushes his gun onto his back and helps Sarge with Destroyer. "I got him. I got him." He lays him gently on the ground. John walks across the infirmary and places Portman on a gurney.

Sarge and the others take a look around the place. One of the creatures is stuck in the nano wall and there's blood on the glass of the isolation chamber.

"What the hell is this?" Sarge asks sternly. "And whose goddam blood is on that window?" He shouts.

"Goat's." Sam answers. "He killed himself."

"Whaddya mean he killed himself. He was already dead." Sarge walks up to the glass to peer at Goat's body now lying on the floor.

"It's true." Duke says from beside Destroyer. "He was changing into one of these mother fuckers and he killed himself!" He shouts, distraught.

"We found two more scientists at the dig. Thurman and a balding guy with glasses." John says.

Sam walks over to him. "Doctor Clay." She starts checking Portman's neck as John continues to strip him of extra ammo. "Did you check their necks?" She asks. "Were their open wounds on their necks?" She asks her brother.

"We were conducting a firefight not an autopsy." John retorts back.

"We came up here to find seven scientists. Four are known dead and Doctor Willits is probably KIA somewhere down in that sewer. The only one missing is Doctor Carmack. Has Doctor Carmack shown up yet?" Sarge shouts, glaring at Sam.

"Oh, he's shown up alright." Duke retorts.

"Look at the left ear." Sam says, pointing to the creature on the wall. The creature is Doctor Carmack.

"Son of a bitch." Sarge mutters.

Sam walks over to the dead creature. "We think this other one is Doctor Willits. I'm going to run the DNA and check it against his med records."

"What were you people working on up here?" Sarge shouts the question.

"We're analysing bones, artefacts, we're not doing anything like this." Sam defends. John walks closer to her, his gun in his hand.

"Then what the fuck is that?" He points at Carmack.

"It must be a genetic mutation, something environmental or viral. I don't know." Sam says with a shake of her head and a shrug. "It may even be reversible." She contemplates.

"It's irreversible." Sarge says adamantly.

"Not necessarily." Sam continues to defend.

"Doctor Carmack's condition is irreversible." Sarge insists before pulling out a hand gun and walking up to Carmack in the wall.

"No!" Sam shouts but Sarge puts the gun in Carmack's mouth and pulls the trigger.

The shot makes me visibly jump. My nerves are completely shattered.

"Because Carmack's condition is that he's dead." Sarge continues his sentence. "Kid, you and Duke go back to the dig and you make sure those other dead scientists are really dead."

The Kid and Duke leave solemnly. I barely glance at them as I hug myself, trying to stop my hands from shaking.

Sarge looks at Sam, it seems I've been forgotten. For now.

"I've lost four soldiers. What were you people experimenting with up here?" Sarge asks as he stalks her. "I'm not going to ask you again." He says.

"I told you." Sam replies. "It's an archeological research centre. Do you think I'm lying to you, is that what you're saying? You think I'm hiding something?" Her voice sounds stressed and John isn't defending her. "I'm telling the truth." She insists. Sam looks utterly defeated and confused and scared. I can't take it.

I swallow a lump in my throat. "This was never supposed to happen." I say quietly, looking at the floor. I can practically feel the attention turn to me. "We were only supposed to start on mice next week but things went too far." I try to blink back tears but they stream down my face anyway.

"Penny?" Sam questions me.

"What were you working on?" John asks. I can hear disappointment in his voice, and it makes me look up at them. Sarge, John and Sam are looking at me, confused.

When I don't say anything more, John walks up to me.

"I didn't know, I swear." I say looking only at him. "I had no idea they were doing this."

"You went to Carmack's office for his research data." He frowns, thinking out loud. "What was in the data? What were you sent to protect." He asks.

"It may be better to show you." I say quietly and quickly hurry to the computer. I can feel John, Sarge and Sam right behind me. "I knew something was off when we got the results of the last dig, but by then it was too late." With shaking hands I pull out the data disk from my pocket and put it into its slot.

"What was?" Sam asks me.

I pause and glance at her. "C24." I say and press play on the recording.


	8. Chapter 7

**Okay, so I thought the last chapter was really short and it ended a bit abruptly, soooooo, here is another chapter for you. Enjoy ;)**

 **Disclaimer: Doom is mine! All mine!** **Mwa ha ha ha! _Sigh._ I don't own Doom :'-(**

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Chapter 7

"Subject was injected with study agent at 00:03." Carmack explained in detail. The man strapped down struggled against the injection. "Vitals normal, elevated heart rate attributable to subject anxiety." The explanation went on as the man got more violent in his struggles. "C-24 successfully grafted to subject's marker cells at 00:09."

"You reconstructed chromosome mutation in a human subject." John says.

"We were never supposed to do human studies." I insist. "I called to say experimentation on mice had to be postponed pending more conclusive results on the latest skeletal remains. They weren't like the others."

"What the hell are we looking at?" Sarge asks.

John sighs. "Genesis, Chapter one." He says.

Carmack continues on the video recording. "Subject moved to protected observation area at 00:17. Subject: Curtis Stahl. Crime: Multiple murder. Status: Condemned to execution." The test subject begins to visibly change physically. He was turning into one of those monsters.

Sam moves to the other side of the desk and looks at a vial with clear liquid. "Chromosome 24." She looks at us.

"Oh my god." John says as he watches Stahl change.

"49 minutes after injection, genetic mutations began to visually manifest on subject's extremities." The changes are horrific and look utterly painful. I look away, unable to look any more. The others find it difficult to watch as well.

John grabs the storage disk from the computer, stopping the recording. "This is what you were sent to protect." He says walking away. I can't even deny it.

"It doesn't make any sense." Sam says.

"You trusted them, they lied to you." He says back. "They used you, Penny."

"Noah Stafford." I say. "He's the one who sent me to Carmack's office for...this." I gesture to the screen for emphasis.

"Your boyfriend?" John asks.

"Ex-boyfriend." I reply. "The prick won't know what hit him." I mutter, trying to think of the best and most painful way to deck him. I notice John looking at me strangely.

"But if he perfected xenogenesis-" Sam continues.

"Don't you get it?" John interrupts her. "It's this place. It's hell, it always was." His gaze then falls on me and at the moment I just can't think of a reason to disagree with him. "This ends here." He says, and walks up and gathers all the storage disks.

"What are you doing?" Sarge asks.

"We need to destroy these disks." John replies.

"That's UAC property."

"Fuck UAC property we take this back they'll just-"

Sarge grabs the disks from John's hand. "We take the data back." Sarge insists.

"Sarge, can't you see what's going on he-" John tries to reason with him.

"I didn't see shit." Sarge responds. "And I ain't paid to see shit. I have my orders and so do you." He looks to me and Sam. "Is this everything?"

Sam is speechless.

"I said, is this everything?" Sarge shouts.

"I have three more to download." She finally stutters.

"Then do it." Sarge orders curtly.

Something on the radio comes through, finally drawing Sarge's menacing attention off us. I vacate the seat for Sam, so she can continue to download the servers, and stand beside the desk, my hands resting lightly atop the desk. "Now!" Sarge shouts our way before making to leave.

"You just want to leave them here?" John asks back.

"They've got a job to do." Sarge responds, cocking his BFG and walking off.

John glances at me then Sam, before reaching behind him and pulling out a comm radio. "Look, this is Portman's comm." He says, placing it on the desk next to Sam. He then looks hard at both of us. "You're going to be alright, both of you." He says softly.

"We'll be fine." Sam assures him with a slight smile.

"Okay." John responds quietly. "I'll see you soon." He turns to leave but stops after a few steps, and turns back to look at me. For a moment he looks conflicted like he's struggling to come to a decision then it's as though his mind is made up and he takes two long but quick strides and stops just in front of me. We're barely an inch apart and my heart skips a beat. I can feel his hot breath on my face, and I can see my confused expression reflected in his eyes.

"John, what is-" I'm suddenly interrupted by John leaning closer and softly capturing my lips with his. At first I'm stunned, but when he starts to deepen the kiss, I kiss him back, slipping my hands onto his chest as I feel his hand slide onto my hip.

We're forced to break for air, ending the sweet, blissful kiss. We're both breathing heavily and looking into each other's eyes, barely an inch away. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." He says with a small triumphant smirk, before pecking me quickly on the mouth and pulling away. "Be safe." And just like that he was out the door before I could even respond.

I stand rooted to the spot, waiting for my brain to catch up to the latest event. I can still feel John's lips on mine, the warmth lingering with the memory. He kissed me. He really kissed me. I feel a stupid grin forming on my face, failing completely to suppress it.

I turn and see Sam grinning at me. My own immediately falls. "W-what?" I ask innocently.

"I knew it." Sam announces happily.

"Huh?"

"You know, you're the dumbest smart person I know." She retorts impatiently, shaking her head and looking back at the screen. "It's so obvious that he's in love with you, and you're still in love with him."

"Wh - wha - what? He's not - he can't be - can he?" I ask.

"I know I'm not the best with relationships, but take my advice. If a man suddenly kisses you like that out of nowhere in a situation like this, he loves you. Trust me." Sam insists.

I begin to feel a little giddy at the idea that John, my childhood friend, the man I've been in love with since we were kids, may reciprocate my feelings. It would be a dream come true.

"Look at you, all smiles now." Sam chuckles, and I roll my eyes.

"You may, _may_ mind you, be right, but I've still got to hear it from him." I sigh and settle into a seat beside my best friend. "How did you know, though? That was in love with him." I ask.

Sam looks at me and shakes her head. "You're like an open book, Penny. You've been in love with my brother since we were kids, and everyone knows it, apart from my just as dense idiot brother." She sighs. She then glances at me then the computer, then around the infirmary where the bodies of the deceased RRTS members lie.

"I know that look." I comment suspiciously. "You're thinking of something."

Sam looks over to me smirks. "You mind finishing up the data downloads? I want to test something." She says.

"Yeah, sure." I say and take over the computer station. Sam busies herself around the infirmary trying to prove a theory, while I watch the computer screen.

I'm on the last disk when John rushes in, all in a panic. "Sam, Penny, why didn't you answer your comm?" He asks, panting, and rushes to my side. "We got to go now." He insists and grabs my hand, pulling me towards Sam. I only just have enough time to grab the disks as I'm pulled away.

"John! What the hell?" I retort, not really keen on his sudden rushing. I slip the data disks into the pocket of my pale mint green scrubs pants.

Sam is busy at the table. She set up one of the creature's tongues and has cotton wool in tongs and liquids.

"Why did they take Goat and not Destroyer?" Sam asks. "Why Doctor Carmack and not Doctor Thurman?" She looks at us.

"What?" John breathes, glancing behind us.

"Lucy had the 24th chromosome but she wasn't a monster, she died protecting her child, not devouring it." Sam continues, on a roll. "Why did the same chromosome that made her superhuman turn Stahl into a monster?"

"Let's go!" John says hurriedly, as he grips my hand tightly in his, his gun pointing up in his other hand.

"Give me a minute." She says.

"We don't have a minute."

"Then give me ten seconds." She says. "This is its tongue." She points to the large slice of slimy meat on the tray. She then picks up some of the cotton. "This is brain matter from Portman." She puts it close to the tongue. The thing jumps towards it, and both me and John jump a little at the sudden action. "This is from Destroyer." She says, picking up another ball of cotton. When she places it near the tongue, it doesn't do anything at all. It's still. "It's choosing, John." She says finally in conclusion. "It's choosing who to infect."

"Choosing? How's it choosing?" John asks.

"Our DNA." I say suddenly, clicking where Sam is going with this. She nods and John looks at me. "Genetic markers for psychotic and violent behaviour. It could be a specific neurotransmitter it's picking up on or a ganglion latching onto numbers in the DNA code linked-" As I talk, Sam is on the other side of the lab picking up a sample.

"Linked to what?" John asks, interrupting me. "Evil?"

Sam looks at us. "Ten percent of the human genome is still unmapped. Some say it's the genetic blueprint for the soul." She says, coming back to us and the tongue. She then holds up a vial with a white cap and clear liquid. I recognise it instantly. "Maybe C24 is what destroyed the population. It would explain why they had to build the ark to escape to a new beginning. Some it made superhuman. Others, monsters."

"Oh my god." John has a look of horror on his face. "We have to get out of here now." He insists again.

"Why?" I ask.

"Come on, let's go." John says before he pulls me to the other side of the lab. Sam follows close behind. "The people quarantined on the other side, they won't all be infected."

"What's going on?" Sam asks.

"Sarge is going to kill them all." He responds, looking at us. "Come on."

John doesn't let go of my hand the whole way to the ark. I keep looking back to make sure Sam is still following us. When we reach the ark, John let's go of my hand to activate the ancient teleportation device.

"Get ready!"


	9. Chapter 8

**Here is the next chapter for Penny for your thoughts, and then tomorrow I will release the last and final chapter. Woohoo. Enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Doom, only my own OC: Penny.**

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Chapter 8

"Ark travel complete." Says the female computerised voice as we arrive back on Earth.

"Oh my god." John mutters. There are bodies everywhere, the place is an absolute mess. All of the bodies have bullets in them. He then starts walking, with me and Sam hot on his heels. "Sarge. Sarge, come in. Sarge, do you read?" He shakes his head in mild frustration but doesn't give up. "Sarge, come in. Do you copy?" His face then looks relieved, I'm assuming Sarge answered his call. "Look do not kill everybody, I repeat, do not kill everybody. They're not all infected. Do you copy?"

As John talks to Sarge over the comm, I walk around the ark chamber, examining the bodies, checking for any open wounds on their necks, just like Sam. However, so many of the bodies are so badly hurt that I can't tell if the neck wounds are from the creatures or just collateral damage.

"Is Sarge going to stop killing all the scientists?" I ask out loud, looking up from my crouching position beside some bloodied bodies. I keep my distance, not wanting to become infected myself. I'd like to think I'm a good person, but that doesn't mean I don't have the genetic markers to turn into one of those monsters. I can't take the chance.

John looks at me, not answering, but I can tell from his eyes what he's thinking. He doesn't think Sarge is going to do just that. He then motions for us to follow him out of the Ark Chamber.

Just then, Sarge walks around the corner of the corridor we're in, a look of bloodlust glimmers in his eyes, and his hold on his gun is firm. "What's going on?" He asks impatiently as he approaches John. Sam and I move to join them but I freeze in place when I see a familiar figure behind Sarge.

"Noah?" I ask in disbelief.

Noah Stafford, a fit 34 year old man with keen blue eyes and dark jet black hair slicked back with gel. Even in this nightmarish hell, he looks perfect. His dark grey suit is crisp and spotlessly clean. His shirt is whiter than white, and his tie looks like a clip on it's so perfect but I know for a fact that it's not.

When he sees me, he increases his speed and envelops me into a stiff hug. "Oh, Penny. I'm so happy to have you back." He says, relieved. I can feel the others' eyes on me but for now my focus is on Noah. He doesn't even notice that I don't return the embrace, and my body is as stiff as a board. He releases his hold to look down at me. "You look as beautiful as ever." He says softly and leans down to kiss me.

In reflex, I move of his reach. At first he looks confused but quickly brushes it off. "Right, not the time."

"What are you doing here, Noah?" I ask, keeping some distance between us.

"Mister Stafford was here when we came through the ark." Sarge says, looking at us.

"So why didn't you shoot _him_?" John asks, glaring at Noah. I suppress a small smile at his attitude towards my soon to be ex boyfriend.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" Noah asks, oozing confidence and superiority.

"Should I?" John retorts back, and my two suitors begin a death staring match, the tension in the air thickening by the second. In the meantime, Sam approaches Stafford and examines his neck.

"It's fine, he's not infected." Sam insists. John seems a little disappointed at this news but Sam turns to Sarge. "You don't have to kill him, and you don't have to kill all of them." She says. "I don't think everyone is infected, or even capable of being infected."

"We have orders to contain this threat by any means necessary." Sarge barks loudly, looking hard at all of us.

"So let's evacuate the uninfected, and blow this place to hell." John loudly.

"That is not an option, _soldier_." Noah responds, throwing John a dirty look. "Do you have any idea how much a facility like this costs?" He pauses for effect. "No. Clear the facility of the infection, those are your orders." He points at John and Sarge in turn.

"Do you even hear yourself?" I ask in disgust as I stare at him. "Clear the infection? These are people's lives, you're ordering them to kill innocent people. They may not be infected!" I end off shouting at him. Noah looks at me as though I'm one of those infected monsters. "Sarge, you can't do this." I'm practically begging as I look at him.

"Our orders are to protect the facility." Sarge says after a few moments of silence. I nearly scream in frustration.

"We don't have orders to kill innocent people." John growls in a low voice.

Sarge turns defensively to face John. If I thought the tension was thick before, it's now at a whole new level. "We have to stop anything from getting to the surface. By. Any Means Necessary." Sarge pauses after each word for effect. My blood runs cold as I realise it may be futile to continue arguing over this. I don't know what to do any more.

"Found this little chicken shit hiding under a pile of bodies." Duke approaches us, breaking the sudden build up of tension. Sarge whirls around to look at him. Behind Duke is none other than Pinky himself.

"Am I glad to see you guys." Pinky says, rolling towards us. "That thing cut right through the door." As he explains himself, Sam went over to him and checks him for any neck wounds. "I tried to use the grenade but it came at me too fast. Followed me through the ark and started to kill everybody. It was horrible."

"There's no wound on his neck." Sam says, walking up to Sarge. "He's clean." She tries desperately to convince him to let the uninfected live.

Sarge leans forward, pressing his aggression against her. "I say who's clean and who's not." He says, before cocking is long barrelled gun, facing Pinky.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault." Pinky cries out timidly. "Hey, I'm not a soldier, you shouldn't have left me there!" He shouts as Sarge takes perfect aim at him.

"Wait, Sarge, you can't just kill him. He's not infected." I protest, stepping between him and Pinky. I don't really care much for Pinky, the guy's a cowardly ass, but he doesn't deserve to be shot. Sarge just groans in obvious frustration.

"We don't know that!" Noah snaps. "Your orders stand, Sergeant, contain the infection."

"You bastard, how can you go along with this?" I stare at Noah, surprised at how heartless he really is.

"You don't need to involve yourself in this, Penny." He states.

"Not involve mys - I'm already involved. The moment you decided to go behind my back and went ahead with the C24 testing, you involved me. How could you?" I shout.

"And you were dating this creep?" I hear John mutter quietly from beside me. When did he get there? Maybe when I stepped in front of Sarge?

"Yeah, what was I thinking?" I ask myself, really not seeing it any more.

"Back off, grunt." Noah snaps at John.

"What are you doing here, Noah?" I ask, turning his attention back on me. "Why did you come?"

"You know why. I came for you-" Now I see it. Now I see the lies in his cold eyes and weasel mouth.

"You liar, you came for the research data." I retort, shaking my head in my own shame for not seeing the creep for what he is sooner.

"I came for you." He insists. "And the research data." He admits finally.

"Bastard." I mutter.

"Speaking of which, I'll take those disks now, babe." He says, dropping the cool lawyer act. He's cold and heartless.

"Don't you dare call me that. I'll never let you have those disks. Never. And as for lying to me? And starting this hell?" I shake my head and make as though I'm about to turn away from him, before stepping forward and punching him straight in the nose.

"Whoa." Duke nods, impressed.

"Nice." John pats my back with approval.

I smirk, shaking off the pain in my hand and breathing heavily.

"We're over, Noah. We're done. But don't worry, you will see those data disks, when I tell the entire world what you've done." I say, feeling somewhat free.

Noah nurses his now bloodied nose, his eyes glaring at me, flashing with anger.

"I can't let you do that." Sarge says, glaring at me. "That's UAC property. Hand them over."

I scoff. "Yeah, that's not going to happen." I say. "You're going to have to kill me first."

"Penny!" John hisses from beside me. Maybe I shouldn't have said that with the mood Sarge is in now.

"That can be arranged." Noah moved so fast I didn't realise what he was doing until he was pointing a gun at my head.

"Don't do it, Stafford." John says, aiming his own gun at him.

"Drop your weapon, marine." Sarge says, aiming at John.

"Shit." Duke mutters, not sure who to aim at.

I blink a few times, not quite sure I believe what I'm seeing. This is crazy. The tension is so high that if I move a muscle, it could set guns blazing.

"I thought your orders were to escort me to safety, Sarge?" I ask quietly and gently, glancing at him. His expression falters for a moment. That was an order. He can't disobey an order.

"Orders were, still are, to evacuate Doctor Penny Cohen to safety." He says eventually, then aims his gun at Noah. "Lower your gun, Stafford."

Noah's eyes flicker nervously at Sarge, and I breathe a small sigh of relief. "Fine." He snaps, lowering the gun, John and Sarge following suit. The tension around us visibly relaxes, so much so that I nearly collapse, nothing holding me up any more.

"Sarge!" The Kid jogs up to us, passed Pinky. "There's a store room to the south. It's got like twenty people holed up inside of it. We gotta do something." He explains, catching his breath.

Sarge glares at him. "Your orders were to clear that sector. Is it cleared?" He asks impatiently, as though the Kid is an unruly toddler.

The Kid looks back at Sarge, a baffled expression on his face. "No. I told them to stay put. They're okay, they're just scared shitless."

"We kill them all." Sarge growls back. "Let God sort them out."

The Kid is speechless, and so am I. What?! I shake my head, hoping I heard wrong, but the look on John's and Sam's face says I didn't.

"This is wrong." The Kid stammers. "I th-think-"

"Son, you don't think!" Sarge snaps. "That's an order. We're in the field, soldier." He emphasised each syllable.

"Sarge, if nothing's found them-" John starts but Sarge pays him no heed. At all.

"You will obey the direct order of your commanding officer." Sarge says as though John hadn't said a word.

The Kid shakes his head. "No." He says simply, meeting Sarge's glare.

"Now!" Sarge shouts.

"Go to hell."

The next few moments go in slow motion in my mind's eye. Sarge lifts his weapon, and shoots the Kid.

"No!" John shouts and rushes over with Sam.

"Holy shit!" Duke cries out as he stares in shock.

I stare with my mouth wide open in shock and disbelief.

Blood continues to pour from the Kid's throat, and John tries desperately to stop it, but to no avail. In less than a minute, he dies, drowning in his own blood.

"Mutinous insurrection is punishable by death." Sarge says, his voice low and calm, as though that explained it all.

"It was his first mission!" John yells, distraught, his hands drenched in the Kid's blood.

"And it's not going to be my last." I'm still amazed at how calm Sarge's voice is when he's just murdered his subordinate. Even Noah looks pale as he silently watches the scene unfold before us. "I need soldiers!" Sarge shouts. "I don't need anybody else but soldiers!" He yells, his voice echoing down the corridors.

Sam moves passed Duke, who protectively pushes her behind him, as John still crouches beside the Kid. He closes his eyes solemnly, picks up his gun, and slowly stands up. He then faces Sarge. Once again the tensions starts to build.

"Drop your weapons!" Pinky's shout cuts through the air and we all turn to face the wheelchair bound cripple. He's pointing a gun at us. That...idiot. That's what I get for trying to save the man's life? Remind me not to do that again. "I mean it. I have no intention of being killed by a madman, now drop your weapons!"

There's movement behind Pinky, and my face blanches. Sarge strategically steps in front of me, and low growling noises alerts Pinky to his fate. His expression falls. "Oh, there's something behind me, isn't there-"

A giant clawed hand reaches down and grabs Pinky around the neck and starts throwing him around. Sam grabs my hand and pulls me safely to the side, her arms still around me. She's always been protective of me, almost motherly, since she's two years older than me. Her and John both.

John, Sarge and Duke open fire on the creature, firing a hail storm of bullets. I crane my neck to peer over Sam to see what's happening. What I see next stops my heart. The creature slams Pinky's body into John, and he goes flying into the wall, before it runs off to escape the gunfire.

"No, John!" I try to slip out Sam's grasp to rush to his side but her hold on me is too strong. John's face has long gashes on it and he looks really dazed.

"On me!" Sarge shouts as he rushes forward, Duke right behind him. John regains himself, and uses the wall to get up, before going after Sarge.

Duke comes back to get us. "Come on, we gotta move." He says, pulling us along the corridor after Sarge and John. The weasel, Stafford, follows close behind us, his gun shaking in his hand.

"Wait here." Duke says, pushing us into a corner before going through the nano wall to help Sarge and John.

Noah stands on the other side of the wall, his gun pointed through nano wall. I peek around the edge to watch. They're not far down the corridor, but they've stopped firing and seem to be listening. Whatever it is, I can hear from the other side of the nano wall. Then I hear the screeches. Dozens of human monsters still turning rush them, screaming. Sarge, John and Duke open fire. "Withdraw! Withdraw behind the nano wall!" Sarge shouts over the gun fire.

"Fuck this!" Noah suddenly shouts, and nears the keypad. He's going to close the nano wall and trap them on the other side with those things.

"Stop!" I shout, jumping onto Noah's back and stopping him from closing the wall. He struggles and tries to pull me off, screaming and shouting. My arms are locked around his neck, cutting off his air supply.

Noah trips and we both fall through the nano wall and land on the ground on the other side. The fall knocks the wind out of me and I struggle to get back to my feet.

Sam helps me to my feet and drags me back through just as John, Sarge and Duke reach us. I'm wrapped in Sam's arms as I watch them continue to fire through the nano wall.

Sarge kicks the button to close it, but the wall remains semi permeable and refuses to close.

"The wall's not closing!" John shouts.

Sam let's out a sudden scream and drags me back as Duke is suddenly pulled down through the floor. He stop at his chest, blood spurting out of his mouth. Sam screams again, and John and Sarge look back and see Duke disappearing through the floor.

Sarge falls to the ground and gets pulled through the nano wall. He grabs onto the side to stop, but it strains him. "I'm not supposed to die." He grunts before disappearing through the wall.

John starts firing again through the wall. "Let's go!" He shouts. The wall begins to solidify and John's bullets ricochet off it.

"John!" I shout for him.

He continues to grunt in pain, as he reaches to grab my hand and pull me along. "Come on!" He shouts, shooting and pulling me as he walks. My other hand holds onto Sam's not wanting to let her go. We rush down the corridors until we find a store room. John pushes us inside and starts barricading the door with whatever he can find. Sam and I bring all kinds of items to John for barricading.

"How long until they get through?" Sam asks as she carries a large heavy roll of wire.

"Not long." He answers weakly, he's leaning against the barricade.

I frown as I stand beside him. "John?" I look him over and notice the blood on his abdomen. "You've been hit!" He looks down and sees the blood pouring out of him.

"Oh John." Sam cries out, staring at him.

When he starts to fall, I catch him and help sit against the wall. Sam crouches next to him and uses cloth to stem the bleeding. She looks up at me and throws me look. I'm crouched directly in front of him, my hands rest on his chest. "Stay with me, John." I say. I feel like I'm about to cry.

He looks to his right, the sounds of those creatures are loud as they try to get through the door. "Listen to me." He says, his voice a hushed whisper as he looks straight into my eyes, he's shivering.

My hands move up to face and I frown. "You're cold!" I hiss glancing at Sam.

"It's important...Sam...Penny." He says, through chattering teeth.

"Shh." I soothe him, my hands cup his face, caressing him and wiping the blood away. "It's okay."

He holds up a grenade to me and I glance down at it. "This is an ST grenade. When they come through, you pop the top and hit the button." His hand falls and his he loses consciousness.

"John?" I panic, and slap him lightly. "John! Stay with me, please." I start crying, tears rolling down my cheeks. His eyes flutter open again and he slowly focuses on me again. "Please, stay with me." I whisper.

"You're going to be fine, John." Sam says, and I glance at her. She has a needle and syringe in her hand filled with a clear liquid, about to inject it into John's arm.

He follows my gaze. "Wh-what is that?" He asks, his voice slurred.

Sam glances at me then looks up at him. "C24. It's from Carmack's lab." She says, about to insert the needle into his arm.

"No." John protests, moving his arm away from her. "No way, forget it."

"You're bleeding to death." Sam says quietly.

"It could save save you." I say,

"No way, Sam." He refuses. "I've done some bad things." He whispers.

"No." I say, my hands still on his face as I look into his eyes. "I know you, John. I know you." I whisper.

"You don't know me." He sounds weaker by second. "You don't know."

"I do know." I say quietly. "You're John Grimm. The man I've been in love with for fifteen years, who...who I still love."

"Penny...I love you too." He breathes. "I've always loved you." I press my lips to his and softly kiss him, pouring as much love as I can feel into it.

I look to his sister and nod the okay for her to proceed.

"Wait." John stops her again. "Wait." He pulls out his gun and holds it to up to his head. "If I should turn into one of those monsters, one through the heart one through the head. Don't you hesitate." He says to me.

I grab the gun from him. "We won't need to." I say.

Sam injects the C24 into John's arm, but as I gaze at him, he begins to fall. "No. John." I call out to him, but he's on his side now. "No, I just got you back, I can't lose you again!" I cry. John's eyes are on mine as they glaze over. "No no no no no!" Oh-oh no. He's not breathing.

I stare at John in silence. "He can't be gone." I shake my head and look to Sam. "He can't be."

My body is wracked with sobs and my mind goes numb. Sam pulls me into a hug as she starts crying with me. "What do we do now?" I ask Sam, and she hugs me tighter.

"Shh." She consoles me. "We're going to get out of here. Both of us are going to be okay." She kisses the top of my head. "We'll be okay."


	10. Chapter 9

**The last chapter in this story. It all went by se quickly. Enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I don not own Doom.**

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Chapter 9

It only took another fifteen minutes for the them to break through. When they did, I used the ST grenade to clear a path then I used the gun John gave me on them. Sam and I made a run for it down the corridors. Whenever one of them got in our way, I used the gun to shoot them.

"Come on, Sam!" I shout, pulling her along the corridor, the gun in my other hand.

"Penny, watch out!" She shouts back as a monster appears in front of us. I point the gun at it and try to shoot, but the tops shoots back and gets stuck. It's empty.

"Shit." I curse. "Run!" I scream and start to back away from the monster.

Sam and I are screaming as we run.

"Penny!" Sam shouts before something slams into me. I go flying and hit a wall, pain spreading from my side. Stars dance in my eyes before my vision goes dark and my mind slips into unconsciousness.

-000-

The first thing I feel as my eyelids flutter open is pain. Lots of pain. It feels like that time I cracked a rib falling out of a tree. I shift, and curse as the pain splits my side. Oh, I take that back. This is worse. Much much worse.

I clutch my side to try and hold in the pain, and lift my head to look around. I'm in a dark corridor, yellow emergency lights lighting the way. There's no one around, it's completely empty. I feel my aching head and there's a two inch gash on the back of my head, but the blood is now sticky, matting my hair.

I shift slowly again and lift myself off the ground, testing how much freedom of movement I have. It's not much. My chest hurts, my head hurts, my whole body hurts. What hit me? Probably one of the monsters. I become panicked as that thought crosses my mind. I was attacked by one of the monsters! Did it try to infect me? I feel my neck for any cuts or gashes, but there seems to be nothing. No wound. I'm not infected.

I breathe a heavy sigh of relief and collapse against the wall. I really don't want to turn into one of those things.

As much as I'd just love to sit here and wait till someone comes to get me, there's isn't anyone. I wonder how long I've been out? Not more than an hour I'm sure. And where's Sam? I hope she's okay.

"Come on, Penny. Time to move." I say quietly to psych myself up.

I take a deep breath and push myself up onto my feet. Yeah, definitely a broken rib or two, but my legs still seem fine.

I move quietly and slowly along the corridor, my hand running along the wall as I walk. My other hand is glued to my side.

So far so good. I haven't run into any monsters, but there are numerous bodies. And lots of blood. I'm still stuck in this nightmare.

"Where are you, Sam?" I whisper the question as I peek around the corner. It's empty. Okay, good sign.

I walk along the corridor when a sound stops me dead in my tracks. I can't pinpoint where it came from, and I can't figure out what is. It sounds almost like...dragging?

A door slides open to reveal a tall man, still in the process of transforming into a monster, standing in the doorway. His eyes are alien and his mouth is slack and open. His clothes are somewhat tattered and bloodied. It's Noah.

I stop breathing completely as he looks at me and growls. I take a step back but it just ends up setting things into motion. He lunges for me, and I make a run for it. I run down the corridor, though not as fast as I could, the pain in my abdomen reaching new heights. I just hope I don't pierce a lung.

Suddenly, something wraps itself around my ankle and I go crashing down into the floor. "Ahg!" I cry out as a jolt of pain shoots through my entire body. The pain is so intense I nearly pass out, but the pressure around my ankle and fear keeps me from slipping into oblivion. I kick at Noah with my other foot to try and get him to leg go. After a well aimed kick in his face, he finally releases me, but as I try to back away from him, he jumps on top of me and yells into my face with anger. Small droplets of spit fly everywhere and his breath is hot on my face.

I scream as hard and as loud as I possibly can as my end draws near at the hands of my stupid ex-boyfriend.

Gunshots ring in my ears and Noah flies away, blood spattering everywhere. Even though the creature is gone, I can't move. My body seems to be frozen in place and all I can do is stare up at the ceiling, my body shaking slightly from shock.

"Penny!"

Hey, that's my name. Hands lift me up off the ground and I'm pulled into someone's chest.

"Penny."

I look up into familiar hazel green eyes and my heart clenches. "John? You're alive." My voice cracks as I begin to cry for the millionth time that day. I think I'm really a crybaby. I lift my hands to his face, feeling the reality of his presence. "You're really here."

"Yeah." He smiles down at me.

"You're okay."

"I'm fine." He says and I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him.

"I thought I lost you." I whisper.

"You didn't lose me." He says in a calming voice. His hold on me tightens, and presses against one of my broken ribs, making me cry out in pain.

"Shit." I groan through grit teeth.

"What's wrong?" John asks, concern etched in his eyes and face.

"M-my ribs, I think they're broken." I answer, huffing as the agony subsides slightly.

He mutters a curse under his breath, too quiet for me to hear. "Okay, I'm getting you out of here." He says, as he starts to lift me to my feet. I immediately feel a problem.

"Ow, ow, ow. My ankle, I think I twisted it when Noah grabbed me." I scowl, shifting all my weight on my other foot. What isn't hurt or broken?

"Put your arm around me." John orders, sliding his arm around me, supporting me while being careful of my broken ribs, his gun in his other hand. I do what he says and use him to keep most of the weight off my injured foot. "What happened to Sam?" He asks, as we walk down the corridor.

"I don't know." I whisper. "I got hit and fell unconscious. When I came too, she was gone. I'm so sorry, John."

He clenches his jaw and mutters yet another curse, but when he glances at me, his eyes just look sad. "No, I'm sorry." He says eventually. "I'm the one who failed to protect you two."

"But you did everything you could-"

"It wasn't enough!" He hisses angrily.

I stop him from walking and force him to face me. "John, you died trying to protect us. You didn't fail us." John stares at me silently, but his face says he's not buying it. "Besides, we're still alive, and Sam is alive. We just need to find her." I say with more confidence than what I really feel.

"We?" He asks, slight amusement in his voice.

"Yes, we. So let's move out, soldier." I say in a commanding voice, pointing onwards.

John chuckles, before we start moving again. "You're something else, Penny." He says quietly

"Yeah, I know. I'm a dork. And a scaredy cat. And a really big crybaby." I admit nonchalant.

"Yes." He admits, and I throw him a dirty look. He's not supposed to agree, even if it is true. "But..." He continues. "...you've always been so sure about doing the right thing, no matter what others thought of you. It's the reason I knew you'd never have authorised the C24 testing on Stahl if you knew. And it's one of the reasons I fell in love with you."

He says it so easily that I can't help but flush bright red. "One of them? There are others?" I ask curiously.

He looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "Maybe someday I'll tell you the rest." He scoffs with mild amusement. We slowly climb up a set of stairs in silence, so far not seeing any monsters alive. "What about you? What are your reasons?"

I think about it for moment and shrug. "I don't have any. I just love everything about you."

We stop walking and John looks at me, his eyes peering into my very soul like he always does. The world seems to dissolve around us and he's the only thing in my world. Our faces drift closer naturally until a noise interrupts the moment.

John instantly shifts his attention in the direction of the noise while I lament the end of a precious moment in the centre of a nightmarish hell. He then pushes me gently against the wall, and gestures with his now free hand for me to stay and be quiet.

I do what he says and stay put, leaning against the wall for support as I watch him move on. He walks forward slowly, his gun up and ready to shoot at whatever might come our way.

He disappears around the corner and after a few agonising seconds, I hear gun shots, and then growling. The gunfire ceases but the grunts and growling continue. Unable to just stand here and wait, I hobble forward, around the corner.

The darkened corridor opens out into a wide dimly lit atrium. When I spot John, he's hit by one of the creatures with the lower half of its body attached to a wheel chair. It's Pinky. John hits the wall, and slumps to the ground unconscious. Pinky goes after him and starts biting him.

"John!" I scream his name in fear, and sigh with relief when he starts fighting back. John grabs a flashlight from beside him and slips it into the creature's mouth. He then slides out from under it and grabs a chainsaw lying on the floor to defend himself. John side steps another lunge and brings down the chainsaw on Pinky's back, severing the spinal column.

The creature is still attached to the wheelchair but it is no longer able to control it. John uses the opportunity to discard the chainsaw and retrieve his gun before shooting Pinky in the head, killing it.

I lean my back against the wall, feeling really tired and a little dizzy. Not to mention my headache is getting worse by the minute. "Penny? You don't look so good." John says from right in front of me.

I smile wryly. "I look better than I feel."

John takes my arm and slips it over his shoulder then pulls me close. "Just hang on, it'll be over soon." He says and pulls me forward.

We hurry across the atrium and go through the door to arrive at the elevator. Above the elevator is a digital clock and its counting down. There's less than 2 minutes until lockdown is over. There are bodies littered everywhere, and to the right, the wall is glowing blue.

"Bio Force energy." I whisper. "He can't be..." I leave the sentence unfinished and glance up at John's face. He frowns in thought, and I can see him visibly tense.

"Stay here." He says quietly, and deposits me beside the elevator door.

I watch him shift his grip on his gun and move forward until he disappears around the corner. But Sam still isn't here, she's still missing, so I can't just wait here.

I push off from the doors and test the weight on my ankle. It still hurts like hell, but I can bear it. I slowly hobble after John in search of my best friend. A few metres down, I find John crouching by a female body in white with blonde hair.

"Sam!" I cry out and drop by her side, cradling her head.

"Penny." Sam whispers quietly. She's still alive!

"I told you to wait." John chastises me unhappily.

I glance at him. "Yeah, right. Not when my best friend is still out here." I retort, hugging Sam close. I feel Sam relax into me.

"I thought...I thought you were dead. Both of you." She breathes.

"Never." I say, kissing the top of her head, tears of relief flooding my eyes.

"Last man standing, Reaper." An all too familiar voice breaks my relief. We look up and see Sarge standing a few feet away from us. "I think she needs medical attention." He says.

I glance at John, and he gives me a look saying it's going to okay, before he focuses all his attention on Sarge. Even from here I can see the wound on his neck.

"Penny, get Sam to the elevator and stay there." John says quietly, before standing, his eyes never leaving Sarge.

"Okay. Good luck." I say back quietly. Sam begins to lift herself but she can't walk and I can't carry her, so I crawl along the floor and pull Sam with me.

"Where are the survivors Kid found?" John asks as we turn the corner, the voices getting quieter.

"I took care of that problem." Sarge responds.

Whatever they say next, they're now out of earshot so I can't tell.

"Quarantine complete. Elevators back online." Says the female computerised voice.

"Come on, Sam. We're almost there." I say, pulling on her arm as I shift back.

Sam's face is a mixture of pain and exhaustion. She's trying as hard as she can to move but I can tell she's struggling big time. By the time we reach the elevator, evidence of John's and Sarge's fight are apparent as a Bio Force energy wave hits the wall where John was standing. Bullets from his gun mean he's still alive and fighting.

I feel as though I'm about to pass out from the exertion. I prop Sam up against the wall inside the elevator and look her over. She may be in worse shape than me. Her eyes search for mine.

"I'm sorry I left you." She says, her eyes tearing up. "I thought you were dead."

"Shh. It's okay. I'm...kind of okay." I respond, pushing the hair out of her face.

Sam runs her hands over my neck. "No wounds." She says with a slight smile.

I shake my head. "I'm fine."

She grips my shoulders and pulls me into a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright." She whispers. "I don't know what I would've done if you...if..."

"I know." I respond, resting my head on her shoulder.

We remain like this for a short while until I start to feel uneasy about John. He's been gone too long, even if he is up against Sarge.

"Something's happened." I say, moving to look at Sam straight in the eyes. She looks drowsy and coherent. "I'm going to go check on him. I'll be right back, okay?"

Sam nods and let's me go. I stand and make my way towards John, albeit a little unsteadily. John and Sarge aren't far. They're in the ark chamber. The light is dark but I can make them out. Even with no light I can see Sarge turning into a monster. He's grunting and growling and is seriously aggro. A metal rod is wrapped around Sarge's hand with one end stabbing John's hand right through. Both are struggling against each other.

Seeing where they are, an idea pops into my head and I make my way to where the controls are for ark travel.

"Standby for Ark travel." The computer says, when I activate the ark.

"John!" I shout his name to get his attention.

"Do it!" He yells back, fending off Sarge.

I hit the button. "Ark travel portal in progress." Silver liquid begins to float at the centre of the chamber and forms a flowing ball. It begins to suck in everything around it.

John swings Sarge around until his feet get caught in the ball. Sarge is being sucked in, the only thing keeping him there is the metal rod wrapped around his hand and John's hand. Sarge hangs there, looking at the portal and struggling against it. John struggles not to be pulled in with him.

"5."

"4."

"3."

"2."

"1." As the computer says one, John flattens his hand and the metal rips through it, freeing Sarge. He disappears into the portal with a flash, growling in anger. John then picks up an ST grenade.

"Like the Kid said." John says, pulling the top and pressing the top. "Go to hell." He then throws the grenade into the ark portal.

In a sudden flash, the Ark portal disappears into itself, error flashing in red on the computer screen. I sigh with obvious relief and let myself slide to the ground. I'm really tired. John looks back at me before making his way over, and crouching in front of me. He runs his hands over my face, pulling my hair out of my eyes.

"Come on, let's get out of here." He says quietly before lifting me up in his arms. I slip my arm around his neck and rest my head in the crook of his neck.

He carries me out of the Ark chamber and to the elevator. Sam his is still there, though she seems to be unconscious now, but still breathing.

John doesn't let me go and carries me into the elevator before pressing the panel to send it up.

"Almost home." John says quietly, pressing a light kiss to my forehead as the elevator travels to the surface. Our nightmare is finally over, but as I feel the pressure of the data disks still in my pocket, I have a feeling it may only be the beginning of a new era for humanity. As John tightens his grip on me, I smile, the safety of his arms around me squashing my ill feeling. As long as John is still with me, things will be okay.

The end.

 _Or is it?_

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 **Well that's it guys. Hope you enjoyed the story, please review and let me know what you think, if I should do a** **sequel. Thanks.**


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